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WFIG
WFIG is an NBC affiliate serving Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands area. Broadcasting on channel 4, WFIG is owned and operated by NBCUniversal. Launched 9 years after WBNB, WFIG became an NBC affiliate shortly after launching their station. Just like WBNB, WFIG had to suffer the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo in 1989, and WFIG was about to be shut down in 1991 until Kelly Rogers and her company, Island Television stepped in and saved the station. Since 1992, WFIG has always had the branding of "Today's 4." On Jan. 30, 2016, it was announced that Island Television, as well as Higgins Broadcasting, and Oakhurst Broadcasting, were merging into Adelphia Communications, and Adelphia took over as owners of the station. In addition to running the NBC lineup, WFIG also has syndicated programming, including Supermarket Sweep, Match Game, and The Dr. Oz Show. WFIG also operates a subchannel: 4.2, which is affiliated with the Trio Sports Network. Following the merger of Oakhurst Broadcasting, Higgins Broadcasting, and Island Television into Adelphia Communications and Adelphia absorbing the remaining stations, Adelphia decided to shift focus on the stations that are in the top 50 DMA market. The remaining stations spun off to their own ownership group named Young Broadcasting, taking it's name from the former company before they merged in Media General. On April 1, 2017, WFIG was sold by Young Broadcasting to NBCUniversal, therefore making WFIG an owned and operated station. History WFIG was launched in 1970 by a local group that called themselves For Saint Thomas. After witnessing how success WBNB was becoming, Robert Malone, one of the chairmen for the group, decided that Saint Thomas should have another TV station to rival with WBNB, so in 1968, the group began to petition to the FCC for another TV license for Saint Thomas. Seeing this as an opportunity to become a primary affiliate (as opposed to being a secondary affiliate on WBNB), NBC decided to take their secondary affiliation away from WBNB and giving it to the new station once it is made. After the FCC granted For Saint Thomas license in 1969, the group bought an old supermarket and convert it into a studio for their new station. After construction was complete on their TV tower, on June 10, 1970, WFIG began broadcasting, and two days later, became an NBC affiliate. Hurricane Hugo In September, 1989, Hurricane Hugo struck the Virgin Islands. Unlike WBNB, which saw their TV transmitter destroyed, WFIG saw their TV tower was damaged, but their studios were severely damaged and For Saint Thomas sunk every money they had to rebuild the studio and the TV tower, unfortunately, it left their company in debt and For Saint Thomas had two options: Sell the station or shut the station down. For Saint Thomas made the tough decision to put the station on the market. In 1991, WFIG was about to shut down since there were no buyers in sight until Island Television, under the direction of Kelly Rogers, stepped in and bought the station. A New Vision After buying the station in 1991, Island Television began to divest heavily into WFIG. Beginning with the re-branding of the station in 1992 as "Today's 4," WFIG started to make a profit after the aftermath of Hurricane Hugo, WFIG's ratings started to improve, and by 2000, WFIG began beating WBNB and becoming the no. 1 station in the U.S. Virgin Islands. New Owners On Jan. 30, 2016, it was announced that Island Television, as well as Higgins Broadcasting, and Oakhurst Broadcasting, were merging into Adelphia Communications, and Adelphia took over as the new owners of the station. Following the merger of Oakhurst Broadcasting, Higgins Broadcasting, and Island Television into Adelphia Communications and Adelphia absorbing the remaining stations, Adelphia decided to shift focus on the stations that are in the top 50 DMA markets. The remaining stations spun off to their own ownership group named Young Broadcasting, taking it's name from the former company before they merged in Media General. On April 1, 2017, WFIG was sold by Young Broadcasting to NBCUniversal, therefore making WFIG an owned and operated station. Newscast In 1980, WFIG launched their first newscast (Branded as "TV-4 News") and had a good run until Hurricane Hugo struck in 1989. As part of For Saint Thomas' budget cuts, TV-4 News was cancelled. In 1992, Island Television relaunched the news division and began calling it "The Scene." From 2000-09, WFIG had the no. 1 rated newscast in the U.S. Virgin Islands. However, in September, 2009, thanks to The Jay Leno Show, WFIG's newscast ratings fell, and that enabled WBNB's newscast to take the no. 1 position away from WFIG. WFIG finally took back the no. 1 position from WBNB in 2014. Newscast Titles *1980-89: TV-4 News *1992-04: The Scene (@ Sunrise, @ 6, @ 11) *2004-Present: Today's 4 Action News Fall 2015 Schedule Slogans *1970-75: TV-4, It's Happening right here *1975-77: All the Best on TV-4 *1977-79: TV-4, Bringing it Home to You *1979-81: TV-4, Proud as a Peacock *1981-82: TV-4, Our Pride is Showing *1982-83: We're TV-4, Just Watch Us Now *1983-84: TV-4 There, Be There *1984-86: TV-4, Let's All Be There *1986-90: TV-4's the One 4 All *1990-92: TV-4, The Place to Be *1992-93: It's A Whole New Today's 4 *1993-94: The Stars are Back on Today's 4 *1994-95: It's Today's 4! *1995-96: The Year to Be on Today's 4 *1996-2000: The One and Only Today's 4 *2000-05: Now more than ever, Today's 4 *2005-12: Today's 4, Today's Virgin Islands *2009-Present: Today's 4, More Colorful (Local NBC Version) *2012-Present: Today's 4, A Whole Lot More (Primary) *2012-Present: Today's 4, More In-Depth (Newscast)Category:Channel 4 Category:Saint Thomas Category:NBC affiliated stations Category:U.S. Virgin Islands Category:Station that use "Today's" Category:NBCUniversal